Quick and Easy Soy-Glazed Chicken

Chinese-style soy-braised chicken was a staple in our house when I was young. My mom buys a whole chicken and cuts it into pieces before braising it in her own blend of soy, yellow rock sugar, water and aromatics.

A dish like soy-braised chicken may sound like it is ridiculously salty, but it’s actually not. It’s flavoured with soy sauce and, when made correctly, is a wonderful balance of sweet and savoury that is hard to beat.

I crave this dish after a long day at work, when I usually don’t have the time or patience to cook a whole chicken. Instead, I favour this quick version, substituting whole chicken with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and yellow rock sugar with brown sugar to make a thicker sauce that gives me a welcome taste of Mom’s cooking whenever I want.

Serve this dish on top of steamed rice or noodles and garnish it with thinly sliced green onions. To make it a balanced meal, serve with steamed broccoli or baby bok choy sautéed with a bit of vegetable oil. In our house, we also have plenty of hot English mustard on hand, which – believe it or not – is lovely with the chicken.